Last year I was told that I needed glasses, and haven't been out on any big adventures since. I was thinking about leaving them at home, but after a tricky 10 minutes of outdoor map reading today, I've change my mind!

I wondered what challengers do about this? A special case, or do you risk some cheapy glasses from somewhere? I'm not sure I want to risk my fairly expensive glasses in the wilds for 2 weeks.

Appreciate your input!

Normally nothing will happen to your glasses. There's a much higher risk of sitting on them at home ! If your tent has a mesh pocket on the side put it in there when you go to sleep. If you're afraid your glasses will fall off when scrambling or crossing rivers just attach an elasticated string to your spectacles so it will dangle underneath your nose if it comes off. You'll look silly but hey..... you're also that smelly guy. Who cares !? The real difficulty with spectacles if you need them for distance and reading at the same time is the rain ! Haven't found a solution for that yet 8-(

I've had glasses since I was twelve and my eyes are not that fond of contact lenses, so there really is no choice but to wear them. For years I've _considered_ getting a new pair specially for hiking, with photochromatic lenses (those that get darker with more light), so that I could leave my expensensive everyday glasses and prescription sunglasses at home, but I'm still not there yet ("All good things come to those who wait", eh?). So I bring the sunglasses as well, in a sturdy but lightweight aluminium case, so they're also a backup if I manage to break the spectacles. That has happened, twice actually, on a hike - on both accounts it wasn't me but my hiking partner who packed up the tent with my glasses still hanging inside on the clothesline. Since I'm hiking solo now I only have myself to blame if I'm stupid enough to do that .

SEE you and your spectacles during the crossing, Gordie, I hope!

Minna, The Finn That Should Be Packing Right Now

Hi Gordie
I would recommend taking some cheapo ones for occasional map reading during the day and putting your good ones somewhere safe for reading in your tent and for visiting civilisation. If you can't read a map without them, definitely take two pairs!
Have a great crossing.

I've been unable to read a map without glasses (especially in fading light) for several years now.

At first, as I did not want to risk scratching or otherwise damaging my proper reading glasses, I kept a pair of very cheap off-the-peg reading glasses in the front pocket of my Paramo smock and I would take them out when I needed to check the map. My prescription glasses were kept in a hard case in my pack for the evenings.

Now I wear varifocals all of the time but I still take the cheapo pair as a backup. I've sewn a loop of guyline to the roof (seam) of my inner tent so that I can hang my glasses up out of the way when I'm sleeping so I don't kneel on them in the morning.

Another thing I carry is a very thin credit card-sized magnifier. It weighs almost nothing and helps me see the detail on maps, whether I am wearing my glasses or not.

The 2016 TGO Challenge was the first year I'd worn glasses all the way across Scotland. It took a while to get used to how wet and dirty they seemed to be most of the time - and the varifocal lenses make carefully stepping over rough ground quite interesting!

I'm now on my 9th crossing. Have done all crossings so far with spectacles. With no incidents. As a backup I will be carrying my Addidas Evil Eye sunglasses. With optical glasses. So beware of the Austrian

Hi Gordie,
I'm dependent on glasses so already have 2 pairs. I take the more robust pair on the challenge with a pair of clip-on sunglasses (we can still hope....) but what I do recommend is a cap with a good visor to keep a lot of the rain off the glasses. Another suggestion: take flat magnifying lens for the map unless you have printed off sheets at a bigger magnification of the scale.
Good luck!

Also recommend an anti-fog spray for keeping your glasses condensation free.

I have 2 pairs of cheapy glasses I take (one is NOT enough trust me).
Cheap and light.
As close to my prescription as I can.
Worked for last 4 Challenges for me.

When I get new specs on prescription, I relegate the previous pair to hill-walking duties, but I also take a cheap pair of magnifiers on the Challenge as backup. For me the main hazard is legs breaking off with much pushing/pulling in and out of pockets.

I agree with Judith that walking over rough terrain in varifocals feels insecure: in fact I prefer not to wear specs while walking (hence the frequent pocket activity). For rock-climbing, I once tried to persuade an optician that mounting varifocals upside down would be a good idea. He seemed unimpressed, but admitted he had heard of such a thing for snooker champions!

I just wear me normal specs (varifocals nowadays). Never occurred to me to do anything different. Don't carry spares or anything.

I do have some very clever frames, though, which I'll happily show you if we bump into one another along the way ... you can twist the arms to any angle you like and not damage them!!

Thanks chaps, for sharing your experiences and thoughts. I feel I might have left things a little late to find a cheap pair - definitely don't want evil glasses Markus!

Will see you (perhaps not too well) on the trails :)